Do you know our serie "Once upon a time... The Explorers" ? Here is
episode 01 telling about the first navigators.
Ever since he started walking, man has been inventing new means of transport. Rafts, canoes and paddles have been with us since the dawn of humanity, and the sail since the Neolithic age. Is it not more pleasant to drift on water, carried by currents, rather than to trod along tiring and often dangerous foot-paths ?
The mediterranean region, ferment of civilisations, will long remain dominated by three great naval powers : the Cretans, Phoenetians and Mycenaeans.In 600 BC, the Egyptian Pharaoh Nechao II commissions a phoenician sailor to follow the Red Sea down to Pount, on the east coast of Africa, and circumnavigate the continent to return via the Mediterranean. A three-year long "first" of 25 000 km !
Another phoenician, Hanno of Carthage is going to travel beyond the Pillars of Hercules (the straits of Gibraltar) despite his crew's fears. For most are convinced that the Straits mark the end of the world, and that anyone venturing beyond will fall into a chasm filled of hydras and other sea-monsters... But Hanno's courage and skill take him to Senegal, and further still, to Cameroon, where the local pygmies become so attached to him that they won't let him leave !
Following in the wake of their hero Ulysses, the Greeks too have their hour of glory. It is Pytheas the astronomer, who takes off in search of the mysterious land of Thule, in the far North, where the sun never sets. He will reach Greenland, meet Lapps, witness a whale-hunt and finally understand that that the earth is not as flat as it seems...
With these first steps of maritime exploration, we dive into the history of as-of-yet uncharted seas and lands, with our intrepid heros whose main objective is adventure. They are also, however, setting the foundations for all the exchanges, commerce and conquests to come.
Enjoy!
on Fnac.com you can find DVD of 5 series in french and english. Look on the left side of the channel you'll see the information and the link
onceuponatimechannel 4 months ago